Equestrian sports were first included in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris. They were again included in 1912, and have been included in every subsequent edition of the Games. Currently, the Olympic equestrian disciplines are dressage, eventing, and show jumping. In each discipline, both individual and team medals are awarded. Since the XV Olympiad in Helsinki in 1952, women and men compete on equal terms.
The individual show jumping was an equestrian event held as part of the Equestrian at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. The event was held on 24 October. There were 46 competitors from 17 nations. Each nation could have up to three riders. The event was won by Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, the first rider to win two gold medals in individual jumping; he did so 12 years apart, with his first in 1952. It was France's third gold medal in the event overall, moving out of a tie with Italy at two for most all-time. Hermann Schridde, representing the United Team of Germany, took silver. Great Britain earned its second consecutive bronze in the event, this time with Peter Robeson taking the honors.
The individual show jumping was an equestrian event held as part of the Equestrian at the 1912 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on 16 July 1912 as the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. There were 31 competitors from 8 nations. Each nation was limited to a maximum of six riders. The event was won by Jacques Cariou of France, the nation's first victory in the individual jumping. The victory came with a challenge prize presented by Count Gyula Andrássy the Younger of Hungary. Rabod von Kröcher earned Germany's first medal in the event with his silver. Emmanuel de Blommaert of Belgium took bronze.
The individual show jumping event was part of the equestrian programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 12 September at the Olympisch Stadion in Antwerp. There were 25 competitors from 6 nations. The event was won by Tommaso Lequio di Assaba of Italy, with his teammate Alessandro Valerio earning silver. Carl Gustaf Lewenhaupt of Sweden took bronze. They were the first medals in individual jumping for both nations.
The individual show jumping at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place between 15 and 21 August, at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 77 competitors from 29 nations. The event was won by Eric Lamaze of Canada, the nation's first victory in individual jumping and first medal of any color in the event since 1976. Silver went to Rolf-Göran Bengtsson of Sweden, that nation's first medal in individual jumping since 1932. American Beezie Madden, who had led through the three qualifying rounds in 2004 before a bad first final round put her in 30th overall in Athens, took the bronze medal in Beijing.
The individual show jumping was one of five equestrianism events on the Equestrian at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Saturday 27 July 1924. 43 riders from 11 nations competed. Nations were limited to four riders each; the team jumping event used the same results as this competition, with the top three individual scores counting for each national team. The individual event was won by Alphonse Gemuseus of Switzerland, with the nation winning its first victory in its debut in the individual jumping event. Tommaso Lequio di Assaba of Italy became the first person to win multiple medals in the event, taking silver to add to his 1920 gold. Adam Królikiewicz earned Poland's first individual jumping medal with his bronze.
The individual show jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 2000 Summer Olympics, was held from 25 September to 1 October 2000 at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre 45 miles outside of Sydney, Australia. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 74 competitors from 28 nations. Each nation could have up to 4 riders. The event resulted in a three-way tie for first and a medal jump-off. Dutch riders Jeroen Dubbeldam and Albert Voorn finished first and second in that jump-off, earning the Netherlands' first gold medal and second silver medal in individual jumping. Khaled Al Eid earned Saudi Arabia's first medal in the event with his bronze, finishing third in the jump-off.
The individual jumping in equestrian at the 2012 Olympic Games in London was held at Greenwich Park from 4 to 8 August. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 75 competitors from 26 nations. The event was won by Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in individual jumping since 1924 and second overall. Gerco Schroder of the Netherlands took silver. Cian O'Connor of Ireland, who had been stripped of a gold medal in the event in 2004, earned bronze—Ireland's first medal in the event.
The individual show jumping at the 1928 Summer Olympics took place on 12 August 1928 at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Scores from the individual competition were summed to give results in the team competition. There were 46 competitors from 16 nations. Each nation could send a team of three riders; 15 nations did so, while Japan had a single rider. The event was won by František Ventura of Czechoslovakia, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. France earned its first medal in the event since 1912 with Pierre Bertran de Balanda's silver. Charles-Gustave Kuhn took bronze, putting Switzerland on the podium for the second consecutive Games.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was held at Olympic Stadium on 3 September. It was open to men and women. There were 54 competitors from 21 nations, with two additional non-starters. The event was won by Graziano Mancinelli of Italy, the nation's first victory in individual jumping since 1960 and third overall, tying France for most of all nations. Great Britain extended its podium streak in the event to four Games with Ann Moore's silver. The United States reach the podium for a second straight Games as Neal Shapiro took bronze.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London was held at the Wembley Stadium on 14 August. The competition consisted of a single round of jumping. In the case of a tie in points, a jump-off was arranged. The jump-off had no time limit, however, the time taken to complete the jump-off was used as a tie-breaker. The points from the individual competition were also used in the team competition. There were 44 competitors from 15 nations, with nations able to send up to three riders each. The event was won by Humberto Mariles of Mexico, with his teammate Rubén Uriza taking silver at the top of a three-way jump-off for second place. Mariles' win was Mexico's first victory in the event. Jean-François d'Orgeix of France earned that nation's first individual jumping medal since 1928 with his bronze.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was held on 14 August. The event was called the "Prix des Nations" at the time. There were 14 competitors from 4 nations.
The individual show jumping event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on 3–4 August 2021 at the Baji Koen. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition is mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. 75 riders from 35 nations are expected to compete.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin was held at the Olympiastadion (jumping) on 16 August. The competition was also referred to as the "Prix des Nations." There were 54 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation having a team of three riders. The results of the individual event were used for the team jumping event as well. The individual event was won by Kurt Hasse of Germany, the nation's first victory in individual jumping and first medal in the event since 1912. Romania and Hungary each earned their first individual jumping medals, the former with Henri Rang's silver and the latter with József von Platthy's bronze.
The individual show jumping or "Prix des Nations" at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place on 3 August, at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. It was the ninth appearance of the event. For the first time, the event featured two rounds. There were 51 competitors from 20 nations, with each nation able to send a team of up to three riders with the results shared between team and individual events. The event was won by Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, the nation's first victory in individual jumping since 1912 and second overall. Óscar Cristi of Chile took silver for that nation's first medal in the event. German rider Fritz Thiedemann earned bronze.
The individual show jumping at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place on 17 June, at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. The event was open to men and women, with two women competing. It was the 10th appearance of the event. There were 66 competitors from 24 nations, with each nation able to send a team of up to three riders and the team and individual events sharing results. The event was won by Hans Günter Winkler of the United Team of Germany, a victory in the debut for that nation though Germany had won in 1936. Brothers Raimondo D'Inzeo and Piero D'Inzeo took silver and bronze, respectively, the first medals for Italy in individual jumping since 1924.
The individual show jumping at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place on 7 September, at the Stadio Olimpico. The event was open to men and women. It was the 11th appearance of the event. There were 60 competitors from 23 nations. Each nation could have up to three riders. The event was won by Raimondo D'Inzeo of Italy, with his elder brother Piero D'Inzeo taking silver. The brothers were the second and third riders to win multiple medals in individual jumping; all three were Italian. It was the nation's first gold medal in the event since Lequio di Assaba's in 1920; Italy's two golds tied France for most all-time. David Broome earned Great Britain's first medal in the event with his bronze.
The individual show jumping at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place on 27 July. The event was open to men and women. The individual show jumping event consisted of two rounds, held separately from the team competition. The top 20 riders from the first round qualified for the second round, both rounds were then combined to determine placement, if tied a jump-off between all tied riders would determine the winners. There were 47 competitors from 20 nations. The event was won by Alwin Schockemöhle of West Germany, the nation's first medal in individual jumping as a separate team. Canada also earned its first medal in the event, with Michel Vaillancourt's silver. François Mathy's bronze was Belgium's first medal in the event since 1912. Great Britain's podium streak in individual jumping ended at four Games, as Debbie Johnsey took fourth after reaching a three-way jump-off against Vaillancourt and Mathy but coming last out of the jump-off.
The individual show jumping at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place on 3 August at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium. The event was open to men and women. This event was heavily impacted by the American-led boycott. There were 16 competitors from 7 nations. Previous Games had approximately 50 riders at each. The event was won by Jan Kowalczyk of Poland, the nation's first victory in individual jumping and first medal in the event since 1924. Nikolai Korolkov earned the Soviet Union's first medal in the event with his silver. Mexico reached the podium for the first time since 1948 with Joaquín Pérez's bronze.
The individual show jumping at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place on 12 August at the Santa Anita Racetrack. The event was open to both men and women. There were 51 competitors from 21 nations. The event was won by Joseph Fargis of the United States, the nation's first victory in individual jumping since 1968 and second overall, third-most all-time behind France and Italy with 3. His teammate Conrad Homfeld earned silver. Heidi Robbiani earned Switzerland's first medal in the event since 1928 with her bronze.
Nick Skelton (GBR)
